2011 Garden Awards

2011 Show Awards (Display Gardens)

The judges have spoken and ribbons have been awarded to winners in 12 categories at the 9th Annual New Jersey Flower and Garden Show.

Judging took place on Feb. 17, opening day of the four-day event at the New Jersey Convention Center in Edison. This year, the prestigious Brooklyn Botanic Garden once again sent a team of horticultural experts to judge the show’s display gardens, all cued to themes from the Broadway stage.

Participating from BBG were: Mike Mauro, curator of the Plant Family Collection; Ulrich Lorimer, curator of Native Flora; Travis Wolf, a certified arborist and Anne O’Neill, curator of the Shakespeare and Fragrance Gardens. (Full bios appear below.)

Winners of the 2011 awards are:

People's Choice Award
1. “Wicked,” GroundsCare Landscape, Bridgewater
2. “Tarzan’s Man Cave,” Brian T. Stratton, Hackettstown
3. “Big River,” Lily Pad Ponds, North Plainfield
*This coveted prize is taken by the landscape exhibit receiving the most votes from show attendees. Visitors cast their ballots at designated tables throughout the expo hall.

Best in Show
“West Side Story,” Garden #10, Grounds Keeper, Matawan

Best Landscape Design
1. “West Side Story,” Grounds Keeper, Matawan
2. “Mary Poppins,” High Tech Landscapes, Branchburg
3. “Big River,” Lily Pad Ponds, North Plainfield

Grandest Illusion
1. “Wicked,” GroundsCare Landscape, Bridgewater
2. “Tarzan’s Man Cave,” Brian T. Stratton, Hackettstown
3. “Big River,” Lily Pad Ponds, North Plainfield

Best Interpretation of Theme
1. “Wicked,” GroundsCare Landscape, Bridgewater
2. “Big River,” Lily Pad Ponds, North Plainfield
3. “West Side Story,” Grounds Keeper, Matawan

Most Creative Water Feature
1. “Big River,” Lily Pad Ponds, North Plainfield
2. “Tarzan’s Man Cave,” Brian T. Stratton, Hackettstown
3. “West Side Story,” Grounds Keeper, Matawan

Most Creative Garden
1. “Big River,” Lily Pad Ponds, North Plainfield
2. “The (Under) Glass Menagerie,” Atlock Farm, Somerset
3. “Tarzan’s Man Cave,” Brian T. Stratton, Hackettstown

Best Plant Material
1. “The (Under) Glass Menagerie,” Atlock Farm, Somerset
2. “West Side Story,” Grounds Keeper, Matawan
3. “Mary Poppins,” High Tech Landscapes, Branchburg

Best Environmental Focus
1. “Shrek’s Rain Garden,” New Jersey Conservation Foundation, Trenton
2. “West Side Story,” Grounds Keeper, Matawan
3. “Above Broadway,” Mondi Designs, Marlton, and Growing Concern, Cranbury

Best Use of Structural Elements
1. “Mary Poppins,” High Tech Landscapes, Branchburg
2. “Barefoot in the Park,” Amato’s Garden Center, Monmouth Junction
3. “Beauty and the Beast,” RA Landscaping & Design, North Plainfield

Low Maintenance/High Impact
1. “Shrek’s Rain Garden,” New Jersey Conservation Foundation, Trenton
2. “Above Broadway,” Mondi Designs, Marlton, and Growing Concern, Cranbury
3. “Barefoot in the Park,” Amato’s Garden Center, Monmouth Junction

Most Colorful Display
1. “Mary Poppins,” High Tech Landscapes, Branchburg
2. “The (Under) Glass Menagerie,” Atlock Farm, Somerset
3. “Barefoot in the Park,” Amato’s Garden Center, Monmouth Junction

Most Educational
1. “Shrek’s Rain Garden,” New Jersey Conservation Foundation, Trenton
2. “West Side Story,” Grounds Keeper, Matawan
3. “The (Under) Glass Menagerie,” Atlock Farm, Somerset

Judges from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Mike Mauro is the Curator of the Plant Family Collection at Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG), where he has worked for more than 10 years. He teaches horticulture classes at BBG and has been writing articles for garden magazines for the past four years. Mauro has more than 20 years of experience in horticulture and design at BBG, Old Westbury Gardens and private gardens in the New York City area. This is his fourth year as a judge for the New Jersey Flower & Garden Show.

Ulrich Lorimer is Curator of Native Flora at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. A graduate of the University of Delaware Plant Science Department, he has nurtured a lifelong passion for native woodlands and their plant communities. Ulrich teaches and lectures about natives, botany, and soil science at the New York Botanical Gardens and Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. This is his second year as a New Jersey Flower & Garden Show judge.

Travis Wolf is a certified arborist who has worked for the Central Park Conservancy, Randall’s Island Park and the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) as well as the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG). He has taught tree-climbing classes at NYBG and specialty pruning classes for trees, shrubs, and vines at BBG. In addition to his expertise in the care and cultivation of woody plants, Wolf is interested in the history and use of medicinal plants. This is his second year as a judge for the New Jersey Flower & Garden Show.

Anne O’Neill is Curator of the Shakespeare and Fragrance Gardens and of the Conifer Collections at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. This is her first year as a judge for the New Jersey Flower & Garden Show.